When it comes to thinking about mental health and wellness, students in Dr. Ann Fox’s human nutrition culminating course, ‘Effecting Change’ were challenged to think differently this year.
Students were asked to look at how images communicate beyond what’s immediately visible and to take and contribute photographs that convey the relationship between mental health, visual experiences, and one’s environment, and that help raise awareness and spark conversations around mental health and well-being.
The result is "The Power of Pause: What can you see only when you slow down?" a photo exhibition that debuted March 21 in the StFX Art Gallery in Mulroney Hall. The students’ work will also be showcased on the screens in Bloomfield Centre and Mulroney Hall.
Students Kaitlyn Severson and Gracie MacDonald, who spoke at the art gallery event, said it was a meaningful experience.
“It gave us the chance to take a step back and look at the positive influences around us.” Ms. MacDonald said as she noted how as university students in a fast-paced, stressful environment, it’s easy to get caught up in assignments or the midterm you didn’t think went well.
“It created a unique space where we could step away from the stress and focus on what brings us joy.”
Similarly, Ms. Severson says the most notable moment for her came as she realized she was too caught up in the busyness of life to notice the small acts of kindness all around her. Through this assignment, and by pausing to reflect on what truly makes us happy, it reminded her of this kindness. “Now, I’m finding more moments of positivity in my daily routine.”
Ms. Severson says as someone who doesn’t consider herself “artsy,” she had flashes of panic when she first learned of the project. “I felt completely out of my comfort zone. But I feel incredible that this project is how I end my time at StFX.
“Sometimes it only takes a moment to slow down and focus on what is right in front of us.”
ALTERNATIVE WAY OF COMMUNICATING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH
“This was a novel way for students to learn about and share their own ideas about mental health supports,” says Dr. Fox. “Rather than writing essays or handing in conventional assignments, they learned how to take photographs, interpret visual imagery and express their ideas creatively.”
Dr. Fox says this is the first time the class has engaged in a PhotoVoice project, and she is pleased with the results.
“My hope was that students would appreciate and see the merits of a visual way of learning and expressing, and that their work could be used to bring attention to the things they feel support their mental health,” she says.
The project was part of a module on mental health supports, which saw students in the class explore connections between mental health and nutrition, and later explore the significance of creativity as a determinant of health. The PhotoVoice project bridged the two modules by providing a creative way for students to explore their own approaches to mental health and well-being.
“Too many students in the sciences tell me they must put their creative selves aside during their university studies. Not only do I feel this is compromising their well-being, but it is also limiting innovation and critical thinking from the very generation we are relying on to develop and run with these attributes,” Dr. Fox says.
“If you think about it, the arts are a way of reflecting our world back to us, so we can question and see things in different ways. I think it is critical that we provide these kinds of learning opportunities for all students. On a practical level, with the dominance of social media, we also need to equip students with tools to assess and interpret not only text, but images they are presented with.”
LONG USED METHOD
Dr. Fox says she had been aware of the PhotoVoice method for many years as it is used around the world as a means of engaging community members in research projects they feel will benefit their communities.
Last year during a sabbatical in Australia, she was working with colleagues who were working with Indigenous youth to photographically document their communities’ strengths. “I became very interested in trying it with students here. I thought it was something that could be used not just as a research tool, but also as a way to engage students in learning.
“I reached out to Andrea Terry, the Art Gallery director, who has helped me involve students in discussions on visual literacy in the past, to see if she could help us put something together. Andrea suggested the digital format for our first go,” Dr. Fox says. “Andrea’s expertise in this area has been so informative and introduced students to ways of seeing images that they had not considered.”
“It is always brilliant for us when we can have students showcase their work here,” Dr. Terry said at the event.
